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Groups, Individuals Reap Environmental Awards

By John J. KruzelAmerican Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 8, 2007  Environmental stewardship is not a separate Defense Department mission, but rather is the fabric of the department, a top defense official said during the 2006 Secretary of Defense Environmental Awards here yesterday.

Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Kenneth J. Krieg honored award-winning teams and individuals here for their “extraordinary contributions” in sustaining and protecting the roughly 30 million acres of land the department uses.

“Your efforts to integrate environmental sustainability into all aspects of mission planning, acquisition and the day-to-day defense operations of the department help the department exceed our goals for habitat restoration, pollution reduction and energy conservation,” he said.

Krieg listed the following Defense Department accomplishments for fiscal 2006:

-- Reduce water consumption by 29 percent through conservation, recycling and other reclamation efforts;.

-- Diverted 3.7 million tons of solid waste and 132 million tons of hazardous waste from landfills; and

-- Provided refuge to 319 of the 1,311 threatened or endangered plant and animal species, and committed $40 million to protecting them.

“I am proud of each and every one of you for your efforts,” Krieg said. “I thank you for your dedication to the environment, and I thank you for your sustained dedication to the men and women who volunteer to be on the front lines of the world protecting and defending the freedom of America.”